I have released a new track. It is very retro and sort of downbeat - a song of realization and rebellion. You can download it in 256kb Mp3 format or listen to it in the player on my MySpace site.

Click here to download the latest LowHero.DLL track - OPEN MIND

Be sure to listen and download (for free as always) the latest LowHero.DLL offering, Good to Know. This track stretches the project's horizons a bit with a swing beat, inspired vocals, brass section, and big, fat anthemic chorus. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

LowHero.DLL has remixed Sweet Ends Our Happiness for Testube's Covert EP. This track is now available for free download exclusively on the official LowHero.DLL web site (second track in list).

Be sure to hit Testube's official website, listen to Covert EP, and download several of the tracks. You can purchase the extended EP, which has remixes by several strong artists including R010R, PTYL, Digital Dirt Heads, and of course LowHero.DLL.

Dance floor friendly, slick lyrics and vocals in a sardonic theme (of course).

The standard model for a record label is on its way out. Note, I didn't say labels themselves are on their way out, though they may well be. What is compelling however is the trend away from the ugly aspects of labels. Before coming to this decision to start our label, Jeff and I had a big talk about all the things we value in our efforts at making music. Testube, Jeff's project had been signed but he was never as satisfied on the label as when he previously self released his own work. We both decided that making money with our projects was not even close to the highest priority and if it became a higher priority, there was more potential for it in self releases than in signing to a label. At the core of our decision to create Glim Records were two primary objectives - make music for self satisfaction first then share it with whomever will listen. By joining together, we help to satisfy both of these objectives. As mutual fans of each others' work, we inspire and motivate each other to make music and challenge ourselves to grow in the process and by combining our catalogs under a single moniker, we help to attract listeners to each other's work. We also get to share strategies for packaging and distribution. Beyond that, Glim gives us both another pet project to sustain, which for people who hate to see a good project die (it is a sickness really), is also a great motivator.

For now, Glim Records will be releasing work from Testube, LowHero.DLL, and other related projects from Jeff Danos and Jonathan Chalker. However, in the future we may reach out to other independent acts to share in this glorious endeavor. Ultimately, any acts that look to join us will carry their own projects and contribute little something to the promotion and upkeep of the whole. It would be a mistake to say our label is just a name but as you can see it would also be a mistake to think of Glim as a traditional label. Consider Glim the label for the anti-labelists.

The debut album from the electro-alt-pop-puzzle-geek act Lowhero.DLL has officially been released. The album, titled FM_Era, is available for purchase in a couple different formats, non-compressed download or a retail-quality CDR. Good quality MP3s (256 kbps) for all the songs on the album are still free for download on the official site.

The non-compressed download option is a zip file containing wave files (44.1 kHz, 16 bit) for all the songs from the album. These are the same wave file masters used to create the CD. The zip file also contains the graphics for the insert, tray card, and CD and a document with the lyrics and puzzles. LowHero.DLL and its label, Glim Records, fully embraces a web distribution model. In building our distribution model, we considered a few things:

1. People are going to rip and share the music as MP3s so there isn't much point in selling MP3 downloads. For this reason (as stated above), good quality MP3s for the album are freely downloadable from the official site. A few MP3s will also show up on some other popular download sites like Purevolume, LastFM, etc. 

2. People are a little less likely to post uncompressed files to a Torrent tracker so if the price is right, we think people who care more about the sound will purchase the non-compressed files. Also, some poeple do want to support the project with their dollars and who are we to stop them?

3. CD's are going the way of the Dodo bird. There is a ton of credible analysis in the media that shows a trend away from CDs as a viable business model for musicians and labels. There is even an indication that customers are reluctant to pay for music at all. The business is trending more toward merchandise and revenue from live shows.

For those hard-core fans who really don't feel that they have something until they are holding it in their hands, we will offer a limited number of professionally produced CDRs. We are considering releasing pressed CDs at some point but currently it is difficult to justify. For now we will offer a replacement guarantee for any issues with the CDR up to a year including normal wear and tear. The CDR is priced appropriately. Rather than the $10 - $12 we'd be compelled to charge for a pressed CD, you can get the CDR for $5.99. This is currently available through the official site but will within short time find its way to other distributors like Amazon and CDBaby.

I am pleased to announce that Digital Dirt Heads (a.k.a Justin Lassen) has completed a remix of the track, FM_Era, which will be included on the album release (also titled FM_Era).

Justin Lassen is a well respected producer with numerous credits for remixes of well known artists including Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Lenny Kravitz, and more. He is also heavily involved in production of music for soundtracks - film and video game.

I met Justin in 1997 back in the MP3.com days when we were both featured artists. My project at the time was Penetrator and Justin's was Omnicron. Justin was my first online fan and we have mutually inspired each other to keep pushing at this tricky business no matter what comes about (for instance Justin's losing most of an album due to a hard drive crash). Justin currently resides in Budapest and primarily composes music for European films.

Justin's remix of FM_Era is a rhythm-heavy meat-grinding mash-up with a deep, dark bottom end and a steamy, crisp upper layer. In this remix, he pays homage to previous projects of mine by including samples nipped from some of my old songs. Be sure to check it out on the music player at lowherodll.com. It is track 11 and will hold the same spot on the album, officially planned for release (as registered with BMI Publishing) on January 31 of 2008. Learn more about Justin at www.justinlassen.com.

I have posted what will be the final track for the new album (to be released this year). The new track is Forty-Two and it is a big deal for me because I was adamant about having another puzzle track on the album. The other puzzle track - Last Orbit - is more of a riddle than a true logic or math puzzle but the new track - Forty-Two - is purely a math puzzle.

Each phrase follows an algorithm (the same exact algorithm) and the solution of each phrase is 42. 42 is the answer and in order to solve the puzzle, you just need to figure out the question (sound familiar?).

Here are a few hints:

1. You'll probably want to view the lyrics as they are exact in so far as the puzzle is concerned. You can see them on the same page as the music player here.

2. There is no complex math used in the algorithm. You'll get by with 8th grade arithmetic.

3. A blank line (line feed or two carriage returns) delineates a new phrase.

4. Punctuation marks have 'no value', also known as 'null'. You can ignore them as if they aren't there. The program I wrote to facilitate the building of the puzzle automatically strips out all punctuation marks.

5. Spaces however do have meaning.

That's probably enough for now. Enjoy the track and good luck solving the puzzle.

Ever wish you could take a month off from humanity?

Oblivious has a bit more gravitas than most of the other tracks on FM_Era.. It immediately became my own personal favorite upon completion. I try to make songs I'd love to listen to if someone other than myself wrote them. Oblivious constitutes a huge success for me in this area. If you want some LowHero.DLL trivia, you may find it interesting that I wrote the music progression for Oblivious in the mid-90's. The tune is the only thing this new track shares with the original. The instruments are all completely different and the original track had no vocals. It actually didn't even have a name. It was one of those efforts that got started, but never saw the light of day. It is great to be able to resurrect it today.

Oblivious is now the first track in the MP3 player here.

LowHero.DLL is now just one track away from completion of the album FM_Era.

Testube (Jeff Danos) has completed his fantastic remix of Forget Me Now. The Testube version is an IDM / Glitch rendering that comes off as more sublime and meditative than the original. Be sure to check it out. Just scroll the player to the the last track of the playlist here on the official site.

Testube will remix what is arguably LowHero.DLL's most popular track - Forget me Now. The remix will be included on the album, FM_Era, due out in 2007. Keep an eye out for it as it will surely be in the playlist here as soon as it is delivered. Testube's most recent album, Corporation, received rave reviews among critics and is a standout IDM effort. Take a few minutes to hop over and visit their official site.

An album needs at least one instrumental. Werla Zee is a fairly straight-forward, upbeat, instrumental electro track with no frills.

OK ... maybe a couple small (tiny .... like really minute) frills. ;)

Get a listen right here on the official site.

I am surprised I didn't run across this interview sooner. The record label, Mute, played an important part in the formation of my early (and current) musical tastes. Daniel Miller, also known as The Normal, first recorded Warm Leatherette in 1978 as the very first single released by MUTE. The coolest thing about electronic music to me is that it allows me to do it all. I don't need a band and it is acceptable today for me not to be part of a band largely because of the work of guys like Daniel Miller.

I ran across this interview recently and felt it was worth sharing. I always appreciate getting some of the background story behind the things that have been such huge influences on my tastes and life in general. Without the existence of Mute, you wouldn't be listening to my music today. It is as simple as that.

As a side note, it is still sort of a (pipe) dream of mine for my music to be released on the Mute label. What can I say ... dream big, work bigger. -HLCrake

I have just uploaded a new track - Lovely Idea - here and on the LowHero.DLL official site. It is also on my MySpace page. Of all the lovely things in life, nothing is more lovely to me than the idea that changes the way one looks at the world.

Enjoy.

Every 10 seconds, the graphics and headline colors here at LowHeroDLL.com will change in order that the look will be updated with different visits to the site. I think you will find the feel is still very clean (sublimely sterile) and once you have initiated your session, the graphics will be consistent throughout your visit. There are currently five different themes. Two different jellyfish themes, the mannequin theme most of you are familiar with, a vortex theme, and a Dr. Seuss Truffula Tree theme. All photos were taken by Jonathan W. Chalker. The plan is to have nearly 20 different themes in the coming month. While this doesn't impact the core functionality, I hope you will all find it refreshing as you return to listen to LowHero.DLL music.

A new track - PeopleWatcher - which deals in brief with one of my favorite pastimes, has been added to the 'listen' page. It is a bit more upbeat than some of the others and (dare I say) harkens back to a more punk rock time in my history. Enjoy!

LowHero.DLL has posted a new puzzle track - Last Orbit - here on the official site (just pick 'listen' from the menu) and at MySpace. For those of you not into the puzzle thing, I can say with confidence that Last Orbit is as good play as a song as it is a puzzle.

Here are the clues:

1. You may need to view the lyrics. There is a lyric link in the 'listen' area here on the official site and as well via the lyrics link on the player on MySpace.

2. The puzzles in this track are not anagrams.

3. There is one general topic and three detailed solutions.

4. Only the verses contain language constituting the puzzle, though both the refrain and chorus are relevant to the subject (however metaphorically).

5. Obviously, any reference to a number is significant.

6. Google is your friend on this one.

7. 'Is Barbie an Aryan?' = 'is barbarian'

Have fun listening and for the geeks who actually take a stab at the puzzle. Don't be discouraged. It is challenging but I'd say only of moderate difficulty. I think any real puzzle fan having the solution spelled out would be disappointed he/she didn't see it first. HLCrake